Adjustable wrench.



C. E. & A. OATMAN.

ADJUSTABLE WRENCH.

APPucAnoN FILED JULY 12. 1915.

Patented Dec. 14, 1915.

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CLARENCE E. OATMAN AND ALFONZO OATMAN, OF BATTLEFIELD, GREENE COUNTY, MISSOURI, ASSIGNORS 0F ONE-THIRD TO GEORGE E. HOFFMAN, 0F SPRINGFIELD,

MISSOURI.

ADJUSTABLE WRENCH.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 14, 1915.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that we, CLARENCE E. OAT- MAN and ALFONZO OATMAN, citizens of the United States, residing at Battlefield, in the county of Greene and State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Adjustable Wrenches, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

Our invention relates to wrenches, and particularly pipe wrenches having the inner jaw adjustable.

The primary object of our invention is the provision of a wrench of an extremely simple character, having relatively fixed and movable jaws, the movable jaw being slidably supported upon the shank of the wrench and pivotally supported so that it may be urged by a spring into locking engagement with the wrench shank to hold the movable jaw into adjusted positions or manually disengaged from said locking engagement so as to permit of its being longitudinally shifted.

Other objects will appear in the course of the following description.

Our invention is illustrated in the accompanving drawings, wherein:

Figure l is an elevation of our improved wrench, the movable jaw being partly broken away; Fig. 2 is an edge elevation of the wrench; and Fig. 3 is a section on the line 33 of Fig. 1.

Referring to this drawing 2 designates the shank of a wrench which is preferably formed of a bar of metal, one end of which is laterally bent or extended, as at 3, to form a fixed jaw. The face of this fixed jaw is serrated or toothed, as at 4:, these teeth extending inward at an inclination. Slidably mounted upon the shank 2 is a slide or yoke 5 which embraces the shank and extends beyond the shank. Pivotally mounted between the side portions of this slide is a movable jaw, designated 6. This movable jaw extends at an obtuse angle to the edge of the shank but is divergently disposed With relation to the jaw 3. The movable jaw 6 is formed with a downward extension 7 which is disposed between the projecting portions of the slide 5, and which at its lower end is formed with a tooth 8 adapted to engage with a series of teeth 9 formed upon the adj acent edge face of the shank, these teeth 9 being ratchet teeth and inclined upward. The extension 7 is pivoted upon the projectmg ends of the slide 5 by means of a pivot bolt or rivet 10.

The rear end of the movable jaw 6 is formed with a recess or socket 11 within which is disposed a coiled spring 12 having a head 13 which bears against the smooth edge face of the shank 2. There is suliicient play between the rear end of the jaw and the face of the shank to permit the jaw to be rotated upon the pivot or rivet 10 to an extent suflicient to permit the disengagement of the tooth 8 from the teeth 9. \Vhen, however. the movable jaw is released. this spring 12 will force the upper end of the movable jaw outward thus causing the tooth to engage firmly with the ratchet teeth 9. The shank is preferably formed with a stop 14 limiting the downward movement of the slide 5, to prevent the head 13 from engaging the teeth 9.

The end of the shank opposite the head 3 may be formed in any suitable manner, but we have shown it as formed with the alligator jaws 15.

The manner in which this wrench is to be used will be obvious from what has gone before. WVhen it is desired to adjust the wrench the jaw 6 may be forced toward the jaw 3. This will rotate the jaw 6 upon the pivot 10 and release the tooth 8 from its engagement with the teeth 9. Under these circumstances the jaw 6 may be readily shifted down the shank of the wrench. When it is desired to adjust the jaw 6 nearer to the jaw 3 it is only necessary to force upward on the extension 7. The tooth 8 will then ride over the inclined face of the teeth 9 until the movable jaw has been carried to the position desired. It will be seen that as constructed the tooth 8 may be released from its engagement with the teeth 9 either by forcing upward upon the end of the jaw 6 or by pulling out upon the lower end of the extension 7. This makes the wrench particularly convenient to adjust.

Attention is particularly called to the fact that the jaws 3 and 6 project laterally to a considerable extent which makes it possible to operate on the nuts or bolts which ordinary wrenches cannot raise. Furthermore, the adjustable jaw is smooth upon the face confronting the jaw 3 and therefore there Will e nothing which will cause the Wrench to bind upon the nut to an extent which will cause the nut or bolt to be damaged or deformed. Another advantage of our invention lies in the easy manner in which the movable jaw may be adjusted. It will be seen that the movable jaw may be closed toward the fixed jaw by one hand and thus easily adjusted to any nut or bolt which it is desired to turn. Thus the wrench is particularly adapted to be used in complicated machinery or under automobiles and like structures. It will be noted that the working faces of the jaws have such divergent relation to each other that when the jaws are closed the points of the jaws are spaced half an inch from each other.

Having thus described our invention, what is claimed is:

The herein described wrench including a shank having a rigid jaw formed on one end and provided in one of its longitudinal edges and intermediate of its ends with a series of teeth, a yoke member embracing the shank and freely slidable thereon, the arms of the yoke member projecting laterally from the toothed edge of the shank in parallel spaced relation to each other a jaw embodying a rectangular shank portion extending inwardly from the yoke member and having a laterally projecting obliquely inclined gripping extension formed on one end thereof, the opposite end of said shank being tapered and terminating in a single tooth projecting laterally from the opposite edge of the shank with respect to said extension and adapted to engage the teeth on the main shank, a pivot pin fixed in the spaced ears of the yoke and loosely disposed through the shank contiguous to said jaw, said jaw shank being provided in its inner edge between said pivot and the jaw with a socket, anda spring housed within said socket and acting against the main shank of the wrench to normally project the extended end of the shank outwardly and hold the terminal tooth of said shank in engagement with the teeth of the main shank.

In testimony whereof we hereunto affix our signatures in the presence of two Witnesses.

CLARENCE E. OATLWIAN. ALFONZO OATMAN.

Witnesses: I

W. E. STEELE, A. H. SAGER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for-five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G. 

